Party Phone Number

Party Email Address

Donate Button

Front Page Slider Quote

"I want to make this province a better place to live with a brighter future."

Front Page Quote Sig

Keith Hutchings, Natural Resources Critic for the Official Opposition, is wondering why there have been no updates on the continuing shutdown of the SeaRose FPSO. The vessel halted production following a 250,000-litre oil spill that occurred...

Friday, January 4, 2019

St. John’s, NL (January 4, 2019) – Keith Hutchings, Natural Resources Critic for the Official Opposition, is wondering why there have been no updates on the continuing shutdown of the SeaRose FPSO. The vessel halted production following a 250,000-litre oil spill that occurred on November 16 after the vessel resumed production during a storm. It was the largest spill in the history of the province’s offshore industry.

“Why have there been no updates on the reasons for the continuing shutdown of production at the FPSO? Why is the vessel still out of service? How long is it expected to remain out of service? What are the conditions for restarting production? What is the status of the investigation into the spill?”

The Finance Minister said in November the shutdown was costing the province $4 million a day. “Fifty days later, what are the total cumulative financial impacts on the province of the continuing shutdown? $200 million? How is the government preparing to deal with that loss? More borrowing? More taxes?” asked Hutchings.

“The province is an equity partner in the offshore project. Under the Atlantic Accord, it is also a partner in the CNLOPB. For both of those reasons, the people of the province have a right to know the details,” he said.

In December, Federal Natural Resources minister Amarjeet Sohi said, ‘We need to understand what processes we can improve in order to make sure when the work resumes back after a severe and big storm.’ Hutchings said he’s not aware of any information being released since the CNLOPB received a preliminary report on December 10 – a report the Board says it will not release publicly. He asked: “If another storm were to hit this week, would anything be done differently? How can we know what needs to be changed to improve the rules and procedures if the information is not being disclosed so we can have that conversation?”

Hutchings said the Ball Liberals have said little about the ongoing disruption despite the potential impacts of this uncertainty on the industry and the province.